Posted on 10/15/2004 7:24:14 PM PDT by Thinkin' Gal
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The dreaded Northern Snakehead, a voracious predator dubbed the "Frankenfish" that can breathe out of water and wriggle across land, has invaded the Great Lakes, authorities said on Friday.
Scientists with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources identified the 18-inch-long (46-cm-long), sharp-toothed fish netted over the weekend in a harbor near Chicago's downtown by a fisherman, who put it in his freezer and posted a photograph of the creature on the Internet.
A native of China, the Northern Snakehead was first discovered in 2002 breeding in East Coast ponds -- one of which was poisoned and another drained -- and has since been spotted in the Potomac River in Virginia, in Florida and in other places -- but not, until now, in the Great Lakes.
"These things are voracious feeders. They're a very aggressive fish," said Mike Conlin of the Department of Natural Resources. "We hope it's a stray, dumped there by somebody who got tired of feeding it."
Teams will use electric cables in the harbor to shock fish to the surface to look for more of the species, which can survive the cold Midwest winter and eats other fish, frogs and even birds and mammals. If it breeds, it could devour game fish and devastate the lakes' multibillion-dollar fishing industry.
The Great Lakes, the world's largest body of fresh water, has long been plagued by invasive species, with the latest being the Zebra Mussel, the Round Goby and the Sea Lamprey.
Earlier this week, authorities announced plans to erect an electrified, underwater barrier in the waterway connecting Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River watershed to try to stave off the northerly advance of the Asian Carp, a huge fish that gobbles up vital phytoplankton. The carp, which escaped flooded fish farms along the Mississippi, is within 50 miles of Lake Michigan.
Alarmed Asian Carp have been known to leap from the water and knock out people in boats.
The electrified barrier will be adjacent to one erected a few years ago, designed to keep the Round Goby from migrating from Lake Michigan into the Mississippi River watershed, but the effort came too late.
Well, that's that I guess.
ping
The RNC: runs the all-around ground-game on Election Day (e.g., Get Out The Vote) AND the legal effort (anti-vote fraud measures)
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John Thune for Senate: Daschle must go, but Thune needs $ for that final push against a well-financed, fraud-cushioned incumbent.
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Majority Fund for America's Future: Funds/runs the campaigns in the tightest Senate races that need the most last-minute resources
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National Republican Senatorial Committee: Ground Game for the close Senate races + Presidential
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National Republican Congressional Committee: Ground game for the close House races + Presidential
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STOMP, the Strategic Taskforce to Organize and Mobilize People is a nationwide network of dedicated volunteers who have committed to assisting Republicans in our most competitive areas. By strengthening our Party in the most competitive areas, we will lead all of our Republican candidates to victory.
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And, of course, GELAC, the Bush-Cheney '04 Legal Compliance Committee (fighting vote fraud, e.g.)
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Sorry to hear this.
Frankenfish? Ya know that photo on the right is indeed a dead ringer for Al Franken.
Who has the similar pic of Tay-ray-zah handy?
Thanks for that.
Between snakehead fish and "Alarmed Asian Carp," swimming in China must be awful.
Seriously, I know this is bad news. But the Zebra Mussel has stayed at bay for several years after threatening entire waterways. Maybe we will be equally fortunate with this critter, that numbers will be low enough to keep them manageable.
Now that's one heck of an ugly fish. It can wriggle around on land and eats mammals? Yikes!
I don't know if there are beaches there where people lay out and soak up the sun's rays, but if there are and I lived nearby, I think I would be content with getting an artificial tan!
That's just wrong!
BTTT
The similarity is, er, um, reptilian....
Did you say artificial tan?
The one on the left is prettier and gives better political advice.
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